Ahead of Goth Homecoming, Laboratory Drops Video for "Quiver"

Whether on the video for "Quiver" from its new EP Postmortem — premiering exclusively here on New Times — or at its super-goth live shows, Miami darkwave band Laboratory puts the "fun" in funeral.

The trio is dropping Postmortem tomorrow in anticipation of what promises to be a macabre and spine-tingling Saturday night performance at the Black Market's Goth Homecoming at Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. Laboratory invites guests to bring flowers to the show with a dedicated purpose. Bassist Didi Nonya and synth-player Ryan Rivas will, among other theatrics, bring lead vocalist Alex Cordovi back from the dead, and these offerings will be a necessary prop.

Scene veterans Nonya and Rivas are bandmates and a couple. They've made music together as sludge-y metal supergroup Saavik with duo Holly Hunt and are launching Death Dorothy to perform songs penned by Nonya. Rivas is also in the long-running post-metal band Bleeth.

"This project kind of started when I got pregnant," Nonya says. But after she and Rivas became parents, it was put on hold for two years. Laboratory was formed when they added Cordovi to the band for a 2019 International Noise Conference show. "It was such a good show and so much fun that it brought us together, and it was like, fuck it, let's do another one," Rivas says.

The music has now evolved beyond its original songs to a committed, authentic darkwave sound. Rivas says he resisted an urge to play heavier, more metal music and steered this project down a darker, electronic, dance-driven path.
"Shedding the metal-ness out of it, our new stuff is full-on in that electronic world," Rivas adds. While producing music, he starts with synths and drum machines. Nonya helps edit and produce, and they bring Cordovi later on in the process to work on the vocals. Rivas also uses a unique vocal synthesizer called the Pipe during performances to add an extra-spooky element to its live sound.

In making this new video, the band gave creative freedom to filmmaker and musician Bryan K. Adams of bands like Ian Iachimoe, Suede Dudes, and Prison Warder. They've collaborated in the past and knew they shared similar tastes in films. For the "Quiver" visuals, Adams was influenced by the 1977 Italian horror film Suspiria. He filmed at the 777 Mall, a now-demolished arts and retail space in downtown Miami, including footage in the basement of the building for extra effect.

The band plans to play more often in South Florida and on the road, including a couple of shows in New Orleans this December. Nonya says the Miami Goth scene is tight-knit and supportive. "It's become like a family." But with the closure of live music spaces like Churchill's Pub and Las Rosas, Rivas notes that the scene is disembodied.

"It was kind of the uniting force, and we've lost that," he says of shuttered landmark venues. They're grateful for venues still operating like the Ground, Gramps, and Bar Nancy and respect younger bands shaping the scene with all-ages shows in unusual spots like the American Legion in Hollywood.

The Black Market's Goth Homecoming. With New Dawn Fades, Ordinary Boys, Astari Nite, Blood Orchid, Obsidian, Laboratory, and others. 7 p.m. Saturday, September 9, at Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-449-1025; jointherevolution.net. Tickets $20–$25 via shotgun.live.